The role of the chief student affairs officer (CSAO) has become paramount to the stability of colleges and universities. Since the CSAO typically determines the direction and framework for the student affairs program, the purpose of this study was to identify CSAOs' levels of agreement on the Council for the Advancement of Standards (CAS) for student orientation programs. In addition to profiling CSAO perceptions, the study was designed to allow for a comparison of perceptions based on the type of institution which employed the CSAO. A random sample of 150 CSAOs were surveyed; they provided a rating of their level of agreement that each of the CAS standards should be a priority for new student orientation programs. Respondents indicated the importance of orientation activities and strong consensus was revealed on 10 orientation goals. Goals for orientation programs which received the least support dealt primarily with the external business of attending college, such as off-campus housing. The small difference among the orientation goals for different types of institutions could indicate that the CAS program holds the same assumptions regardless of institutional size. (RJM)